94 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



Those who now enjoy the convcnionces so lurjrely 

 to be fountl in populous cities, will find it difficult 

 to form an idea of the habits of their ar.cestors. — 

 Surrounded as they were with numerous occasions 

 and causes of alarm, we may be surprised that they 

 enjoyed even a moderate degree of trnn(|uillity. In 

 the days of Queen Elizabeth, the greater part of 

 the houses in the more considerable towns, were 

 without chimneys, the fire being kindled against 

 the wall, and the smoke finding a passage tlirough 

 the doors, or wind^iws. The houses were built of 

 watlings, plastered with clay, and the floors of 

 earth, strewed with rushes, and beds composed of 

 straw pallets, with a log of wood for a pillow. 

 I'ersons of the highest rank had no better accom- 

 modations. 



In a discourse prefatory to Hollingshead's chron- 

 icles, 1.^77, the writer, speaking of the advantages 

 of luxury, mentions three things, " ninrvellou.sly 

 altered for the worse in England," which were, 

 the multitude of chimneys erected, the increase of 

 lodgings, and the cliange of tureene platters for 

 pewter ; and wooden spoons for stiver and tin. — 

 He complains severely that nothing but oak was 

 used for buildiurf houses; ''for when our houses 

 were built of willow, then we had oaken men : 

 but now, that our iiouses are come to be madt^ of 

 oak, our men are not only become willow, but a 

 groat many altogetlier of straw, which is a sore al- 

 teration." — Mcxandcr' s Messenger . 



From ths Albany Cnltivnlor. 

 Horn Ail. 



1 have perused with deep interest the remarks of 

 different writers on the subject of horn nil. I can 

 fully accord with Mr. Payne and Mr. Warner, as 

 to the cause of murrain or horn ail. 1 have been 

 troubled with that dreadful scourge among my cat- 

 tle for more than si.x years, and wish I might be 

 informed of a sure preventative, from some of your 

 numerous subscribers, I have tried mauv experi- 

 ments, and 1 think to some advantage, hut have 

 found no certain remedy — that the complaint ari- 

 ses from an obstruction of the gaul duct, I think 

 there can be no doubt, and any thing that would 

 assist that organ in the discharge of its regular 

 functions would in a certain degree prove effectu- 

 al. The cattle wliich are most liable to this com- 

 plaint are those in high order ; yet I think tliose in 

 poor flesh and very weak miglit be alike subject to 

 the disease. Tiie complaint is sometimes discov- 

 ered first by bloody urine, sometimes by swollen 

 udder, and sometimes by the animal's shaking the 

 head, the eyes and head swollen ; at other times, 

 comes on gradually, the victim standing with the 

 head against a fence or barn, eyes dull and sunk- 

 en, horns generally cold, thoiugh n-it iu all cases, 

 and when bored are found to be hollow. I have 

 generally been very successful in saving my cattle 

 when attacked vvitli it. My method is to bore the 

 horns on the under side near the head, and with a 

 syringe force in a composition of salt, pepper, and 

 vinegar; put spirits turpentine on the head and 

 horns, bleed iu some cases, and keep the holes open 

 in the horns that they may discharge freely if re- 

 quisite ; soot and pepper given internally is good. 

 I have lengthened out my letter too long already, 

 yet there are some other things I should like to no- 

 tice, but shall leave them for more able pens. 



A. H. COLE. 



IViUiamstoicn, (Ms.) March 24, 1840. 



The Profession of Agriculture. 



We find in Henry Colman's excellent address to 

 the Middlesex Society of Husbandnren and Manu- 

 facturers at their annual Cattle Show at Concord 

 in October last, the following correct estimate of 

 the business of a farmer. We commend it to the 

 particular attention of the dandies, and others, if 

 such there be, who are disposed to sneer at the oc- 

 cupation of tilling the land: — 



"The profession of agriculture bears with it 

 none of these evils. If there lives the man who 

 may eat his bread with a conscience at peace with 

 man and Gud, it is the man who has brought tliat 

 bread out of the earth by his own honest industry. 

 It is cankered by no fraud ; it is wet by no tears ; 

 it is stained with no blood. The profession of ag- 

 riculture brings with it none of those agitating 

 passions which are fatal to peace, to satisTaction, 

 or to the enjoyment even of tlie comuion blessings 

 of life. The profession of agriculture presents 

 few temptations to vicious indulgence, and removes 

 a man from those seductions bj' wliicli too ofieu in 

 other situations, health and character, and peace 

 are sacrificed. The profession of agriculture is fa- 

 vorable to health and to long life, to habits of in- 

 dustry and frugality, to temperance and self-gov- 



ernment, to the cultivation of the domestic virtues 

 and to the calm and delicious enjoyments of do- 

 mestic pleasures in all their purity and fullacss." 



Depreciation of Properly in Mississippi. 



A gentleman just from Vicksburg, who had been 

 i^Xor a great portion of the country in the vicinity 

 oi that city, states that five out of every six of the 

 cotton farms are now vacated, and lying a barren 

 waste — farms too, which but a year or two ago, 

 were worth from $10,000 to $.''>0,000.—J?o.t/»7i Cut- 

 tivntfir. 



Depreciation of property, as a natural conse- 

 quence, follows highlv stisnulated speculation. — 

 Two, three, and four years ago, it required tiie 

 ownership of no capital for any man to purchase a 

 plantation and a stock of negroes for growing cot- 

 ton in tile State of Mississijipi. We know many 

 young men and old men who embarked iu this bu- 

 siness of growing rich. The bank capital of Mis- 

 sissijipi was increased enormously : for this pur- 

 pose a State stock was created to be disposed of in 

 Europe. The new banks would loan money to 

 any body ; and not being able to do suflicient busi- 

 ness by loan, the hanks entered on the business of 

 purchasing cotton, anticipating the crop to he pro- 

 duced on ground that had not yet been cleared I 

 The consequence of these stimulated bank specu- 

 lations has been tlic reduction of the pi ice of cot- 

 ton one half, and a universal depreciation and pros- 

 tration of property. How could it he otherwise.' 



We remember twenty years ago, in a time of 

 great prostration, that the whole real estate of the 

 now flourishing cit}' of Cincinnati, Ohio, was re- 

 duced to a value nearly nominal. In the general 

 bankruptcy there was no bod}' able or willing to 

 buy. There was in that city a branch of the Uni- 

 ted States Bank : it had loaned money freely and 

 stimulated to high speculations. The bank in 1810 

 became distressed from over-issues and loaning too 

 much on too frail capital ; it was obliged to call in 

 its debts, and in its turn distressed its debtors. 

 They gave up the houses and blocks of stores 

 which had been built by money obtained on the 

 bank's loans ; and as a consequence the bank be- 

 came tiie owner of two thirds of the buildings of 

 the city. At first this property was considered to 

 be of little value to the bank; but gradually, as 

 trade and [irosperity returned, it increased in vnlue 

 till the bank in some ten or fifteen years partially 

 made up its losses from sales of the property. 



The Mississippi property, which has been pur- 

 chased and improved from bank loans, may, and 

 undoubtedly will at some future day rise in value 

 like the Cincinnati lots and buildings owned by 

 the Bank of the United States 



The Season. Abundance of rain there— 

 Avant of rain here. 



We have had frost twice in the month of June 

 in the towns near the Capital of New Hampshire 

 — in either case no material damage has been done. 

 In llie South and West, earlier frosts in April and 

 May had done extensive damage to fruits and other 

 articles of vegetable growth. Frost in June in 

 New Hampshire is not very common ; there are re- 

 gions among the mountains and hnv grounds cov- 

 ered with a black growth which denies the face of 

 the sun in the morning and late afternoon, where 

 frost is said to exist during every month in the 

 year. The frost on tlie night of the third Monday 

 in June, in soiiie jilaces killed beans and tender 

 plants. In spo'ts covered with shjde we perceived 

 the brakes were killed. 



I.i the town of C'oncord where we now write, 

 on this 'i'M day of June, the face of the earth is 

 suft'eriiig from severe drought. We had a beauti- 

 ful ruin on the fir.st Thursday of the month, wliieh 

 tlieu revived and revivified the jiarched earth. 

 There liad oeen no rain for the three or four weeks 

 previous ; and much of the com and other seeds 

 put into the ground after the middle of May li.id 

 filled to come up from the extreme dryness of the 

 ground. The Indian corn had suifered mucli 

 wherever highly stimulating manures had been put 

 in the loll : the wheat and other small grains came 

 out of the ground unevenly. A portion of it 

 sprung immediately — some of it sprouted and per- 

 ished from extreme dryness, and another portion 

 which remained in the ground sprouted and came 

 u]> ijfter the rain. 



The rye and gra.^-r; are especially now suffering 

 on all light lands; and if we liave no rain within 

 a week, the Indian corn and potatoes and other 

 crops must suffer much from drought. It is re- 

 markable tiiat in this time of drought here, ns we 

 passed tlie Merrimick river this morning it had 

 risen from the copious rains fifty to seventy five 

 miles north, to the extent of two to tour inches. 



On tlie 20th of the month a smart south \v\n\\ 

 settled the clouds charged witii rain upon th'.' 

 mountains to the north, where it must have rained 

 all day on Saturday. On Sunday (21) evening a 

 heavy cloud^ passed over the region of the Win- 

 nipisscogee lake to the north, which discharged a 

 copious rain. To the South there has been abun- 

 dance of rain in the regign about Boston, and last 

 night there was a fine rain at Candia, which " will 

 do all she can" for Agriculture as well as for the 

 aid of both political parties at the next elections. 



The clouds discharging rain have appeared in 

 rich blackness on every hand — as well upon the 

 mountains to the north and the Lake Winni|)is3e- 

 ogee as upon the more level grounds of Massachu- 

 setts in the South — as well upon the Sunapee and 

 Lyndcborough mountains in the West ap upon 

 Wild Cat and Nottino-ham hills at the East : the 

 rains have surrounded us on every side. On the 

 very morning of this cleared up afternoon while 

 at work in the field a cloud has rested nearly the 

 whole forenoon on old Kearsarge, and passed off 

 to the north in a southeast direction, giving abun- 

 dance of refreshing rain where the ground was less 

 suffering than it is here. 



What especial cause should exist to drive away 

 the clouds charged with refreshing rain, or to ex- 

 haust them before they arrive at this spot, when 

 they come from either ])oint of the compass, is 

 impossible for us to divine. If Mr. Espy has it in 

 Iiis power to set in motion the causes producing 

 rain, Iiis presence would never be more acceptable 

 than at this time. Is it possible tliat the attempts 

 made upon us during the last week to lash the 

 State of New Hampshire into a political zeal which 

 could not be said to be exactly "according to 

 knowledge," has driven away those beautiful 

 clouds which distil upon the earth in refreshing 

 showers, and that our soil is to become as dry and 

 parched as the deserts of Arabia, as a punishment 

 for I'.aving entertained our fellow citizens from ev- 

 ery section of the State — fur the sake of their mon- 

 ey! 



It is an o'd saying that " all signs fail in a dry 

 time." We have had here within a week all pos- 

 sible signs of rain — the roaring of Garven's falls 

 on the Merrimack three miles below us — the flying 

 scuds up stream — the cap upon the tops of the hills 

 — the fair and bright rainbow in the morning — the 

 clear rising sun entering a cloud soon after sun- 

 rise. We see not why all those signs should iiave 

 failed when there seems to be ram every where else 

 to the distance of twenty or thirty miles. And 

 now while we write in a clear atmosphere and sky 

 all around witli an iron cloud resting over the Win- 

 nipisseogee alone, our hope of speedy relief to the 

 parched ground seems to grow less. 



Man is not so apt to mark the teachings of na- 

 ture in a lime of prosperity as in a time of adversi- 

 ty. W(^ have a field of about six acres upon tlie 

 Merrimack intervale, planted with corn and pota- 

 toes, where the ground was ploughed ten inches 

 deep and the sod turned entirely under. This 

 ground is manured with thirty to forty oxcart loads 

 to the acre ; but the corn has not yet taken root 

 so as to throw olf the yellow cast. Some of" it is 

 quite green ; and it is so uneven that some of the 

 yellow leaved is only half the size of the green. 

 It has rapidly changed for the better in the last 

 three days, and is now being hoed the second time. 

 This piece was planted last nf all with no manure 

 in the hill. Th« corn is probably less iu its growth 

 and progress from the fact that a yellow subsoil lias 

 been turned up on the ridged parts and a clayey 

 mixture (probably marl) on the lower portions, 

 notwithstanding this deep soil has been mixed with 

 the plough and harrow to the depth of five inches, 

 without stirring the sod and soil below to tlie dep li 

 of anotlier five inches which h^s been inverted and 

 turned under. But the advantage of this di'ep 

 pb)ugliing already appears in one respect: the 

 drought has not yet injuriously affected the corn. 

 All the manure that is covered retains moisture,' 

 and the earth one qr two inches below the surface 

 is as damp as if it had recently received a copious 

 rain. The humidity of the upper ground, without 

 doubt, comes from tlie decaying sward that hna 

 been deeply turned underneath resting ujiou a sub- 

 soil which the parching sun does not reach. The 

 field left for the roots of the growing crop above; 

 the undisturbed sward, is ample;' the corn will not 

 suft'er from drought if there shoeld be rain witliin 

 a fortnight; and v.e anticipate, if there is a season 

 at all favorable to Indian corn, that we will yet 

 have our best growth from this cold sward land. 



June y.j. — We are now twenty days witliout 

 rain : the parched earth in some places where tiiere 

 has been grass and where grain has been put in, 

 looks as if scorched with fire- The potatoes and 

 Indian corn are wilting and curling under the in- 



